Clouds and Smoke Float Past The Eyes
by Yi Hsin
Summary: A Bone Flower's story to her disciple...(changed the spacing and everything; am hoping it will be easier on the eyes!) Criticism is welcome.


Clouds and Smoke Float Past the Eyes (Chinese Proverb, trans

_Clouds and Smoke Float Past the Eyes _(Chinese Proverb, trans. by author)

It is early in the night. I wake once more to walk among the bustling streets of the night market. Who am I, you ask? _Ai…_ just another face in the masse.I have seen many things, I have _been_ many things…__Aiya__…no use explaining, eh? One hundred and seventy years have passed me by. And yet, I am eternal time, blooming for all eternity…they called me _Yuh Tuh_, the legendary jade rabbit who dwelt in the moon, at the tea house.

In those days, I was as nimble as bamboo in the wind; the 'fluttering crane' was of my possession, all the gai-jin lords sought me. No more though…Innocence always enflames those of hardest souls. _Guei-lao_ fell at my feet, laying presents after my foot steps. I had it all…until _he_ came…

He was just like the rest of them: pale of skin, pale of hair, and pale of eyes. He was cold, and I, with all my ignorance, scrambled to warm him. Those nights were filled with what I knew as passion. But, lust was all that drove him. 

Little did I know, there was more to him then what I saw.

_Ahma_ warned me. I did not heed her cares. What I saw was the picturesque knight of the sun, who came to claim my bed at night and claim _me_ as his Moon-princess. We never dallied into the morn; he was always adamant about leaving before the cock crowed.

What do you say?…You flatter me…I wear the mask of death, do you not see? Perhaps you find that fascinating? No, no, I won't bite you…How can I? You've been the most attentive listener I've had in years…Anyways…

The Wu approached sometime during 1851, during the first battles of the Taiping Rebellion. There was the murderous intent in the air and they told me of him…that he was Kin-jin, a barbarian blood sucker. They asked for my cooperation in the ousting of their strongholds among the _guei-lao_. Distraught, I declined, shattering two jade cups against the wall, and sobbed wildly. However, before the guards arrived, they were gone, and so, my first contact of the spirit-kind ended.

He came that night with the news…and with others of his kind. He asked me to come…he did not have permission from his Prince to embrace me, but said that it would be arranged that I be approved.

My heart was torn…could he truly feel for me? Could I ever live as one of them? My answer was unsure at first, but, as he rose to leave…I knew exactly what I wanted: I wanted nothing to do with him. I told him that if he truly loved me, he would stay, no matter the odds.

He left though, without replying, as silently as he came.

The rest stayed, however, and they approached me to say that I knew too much. I was a threat to their safety.Baring their teeth, they fell upon me. One looked at me before sinking his teeth into me, that I had chosen my destiny, my fate…to die at their fangs. I can still remember their touch…They didn't let me die immediately; they kept me alive, cutting my skin slowly all the while letting the blood drip to places unbidden, where they would lap it up. It was my punishment for the naivety, to think that one of theirs could ever love me!

Sated in my blood, they fell on the floor, like bloated ticks, wretching up the blood they could not keep in their bellies…I never knew pain like this…my heart flickered before giving out.The trip to Yomi was even more terrifying. I stood, overlooking the torture, in my bloodied silk robe. The blood flowed endlessly, soaking me…there were no wounds…just blood. It came in waves, gurgling in rushes…

I don't remember anything past that…only that my soul knew that I had sinned gravely as a human…Yuh found me later. His eyes flashing…yes, the Wu accepted me, even as I had shunned them in the beginning. I learned, as you shall learn, what I was and why I came to be.

Do I hate the Kin-jin? I cannot say. I do not care for them, they only bring imbalance wherever they go… But I am as you see me now: timeless and forever.Come, you are young and have much to learn. I will not spend the night speaking of my ills…for things are like clouds and smoke passing in front of the eyes: with no lasting value or substance, only leaving a mirage behind.


End file.
